From pints to prayers: The Pump to be demolished and replaced by mosque
One of Regina's longest-standing bars is coming down, and a mosque will be going up in its place.
The Pump Roadhouse on Victoria Avenue opened in 1972 and went on to become an iconic country bar in Saskatchewan.
"It's kind of bittersweet," said Mark Smith, who has owned the bar since 1997.
"We've operated it for a long time and I started my music career there in 1989."
Acts like Prairie Oyster, The Johner Brothers, Smash Mouth and Nazareth have performed there.
Smith closed the bar for renovations in July, and was approached by a realtor on behalf of the Saskatchewan Islamic Association (Regina), which was interested in purchasing the property.
The offer was right. Smith said the building will likely change hands before the end of the year.
"I just decided that maybe it was time to sell the property and do some other things," he said.
1st purpose-built mosque for Regina group
The Islamic Association plans to demolish the building and build a brand new facility. Islamic Association president Munir Haque said it will serve as a milestone for Sunni Muslims in the city.
"We have a history of taking over other facilities and repurposing them, but this will be the first time that we'll have one designed specifically for our needs," Haque said.
The community has two other prayer spaces in Regina. Haque said both are filled to capacity, with people praying outside on holidays and on days when children are out of school.
"The building that we had on Montague [Street] served our purpose for a long time and then due to the large immigration over the last 10 or 15 years, that building soon became inadequate," Haque said.
The community bought land in the RM of Sherwood in 2012. When it tried to build a mosque, it was denied permits multiple times.
City welcomes new mosque
Regina Mayor Michael Fougere said council is supportive of the build. The property is in a commercial area and is already zoned for religious institutions.
"This new location is great and I'm very pleased to see that they're going to move forward," Fougere said. "All they have to do is have a business plan and a building permit to alter the building, but otherwise it's a permitted use."
Fougere said the Islamic Association's prayer centre on Assiniboine Avenue was approved unanimously by council. He expects a similar reaction when the group approaches the city again.
"I'm hoping that this will be a very quick approval process," Fougere said.
Haque said The Pump will likely be demolished in next five months and construction of the new building should begin in the next two years.
